This course is available in the classroom and online.

However you decide to take the course, it offers a great introduction to navigation and safety awareness for new or inexperienced skippers and crew, and those wanting to refresh their skills. In fact it’s for anyone interested in sailing, motor boating, sea angling or diving, and works well in complementing our on-the-water training, such as the Powerboat Level 2, Start Yachting and Helmsman courses.

It’s a highly informative course with lots of opportunities for you to put your new found knowledge into practice. If you decide to take the course online, you will find many interactive exercises to help reinforce the information and lots of chances to try out what you’ve learned.

Course topics include:

Charts and Publications

Safety

Engine checks

Buoyage

Tidal awareness

Visual and electronic navigation

Pilotage

Rules of the road

Anchoring

Weather forecasts

Passage planning

You will receive a course pack which includes a chart, plotter, dividers, course handbook, exercises and an electronic chart plotter CD.

How long is the course?

In the classroom, the course is taught over 16 hours with exercises to complete along the way. It can be covered as a series of short sessions or over two full days.

Online the course will take around six hours, but the beauty of it is that you can work through it at your own speed, whenever and wherever you like.

A course for anyone who owns a fixed or handheld marine VHF radio. A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures.

The Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification required by law to control the operation of VHF and VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment on any British flagged vessel voluntarily fitted with a radio. This includes both fixed and hand held equipment using International channels.

A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures. Unnecessary transmissions could block out a Mayday distress call.

All new VHF sets are either fitted, or can be interfaced, with DSC allowing calls to specific vessels. If you hold the ‘old’ VHF licence (pre-1999) you need to upgrade your qualification if you purchase new equipment. This can be done by attending this one-day course or, if no tuition is required, you can enter for direct examination.

Course topics include:

the basics of radio operation

the correct frequencies (channels) to be used

distress, emergency and medical assistance procedures

making ship to shore telephone calls

Digital Selective Calling (DSC) using simulators

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)

Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB)

Search and Rescue (SART)

The course will be taught and examined using radio simulators. The exam will also include a short written test.

The SRC course can be taken in the classroom or online with an RYA recognised training centre.

Anyone requiring an ICC valid for inland waters must pass the CEVNI Test. The test can be arranged through a RYA recognised training centre or an affiliated club authorised to carry out the test.

A valid ICC is often required for cruising Europe’s inland waters. To validate your ICC (International Certificate of Competence) for inland waters you must take the CEVNI test, which checks your knowledge of the rules and signs that skippers of pleasure craft are expected to know and follow.

The RYA ICC CEVNI test is a multiple choice paper. Costs for the CEVNI test will vary between training centres and you can choose whether to take the test at the training centre or remotely from home or anywhere in the world.

The “RYA European waterways regulations (the CEVNI rules explained)” publication G17 provides the information you need to learn the code in a clear and concise way – a sample paper can be found at the back of the book.

ARRANGING TO TAKE THE CEVNI TEST ONLINE

It is possible to take your CEVNI test online, anywhere, anytime as an alternative to the paper-based test. You can find a CEVNI test centre using ‘Where’s my nearest’ search at the top of this page. Contact your chosen centre, pay them for your test and they will then give you access to the test.

Once you have completed the CEVNI test, you will be told immediately whether you have been successful or not. Follow the on-screen instructions for details of how to get your ICC validated for inland waters.

Compulsory online course for RYA Commercial Endorsement holders.

Who this course is for

Each year approximately 4,500 people apply to the RYA for a commercial endorsement in order to use their RYA qualifications professionally as skipper or crew. You could be doing anything from delivering a new 35’ yacht or driving a workboat with lifting and towing gear, to running a superyacht in the Med. Whatever your job is on board, in the commercial world you are a professional seafarer. As such, you are no different from the captain of a cruise liner – you have a duty of care to crew, passengers, and other water users, and you will be held to account if things go wrong.

The course is broken down into four modules:

Commercial environment – how you fit into the professional maritime world.

People – the importance of correct manning, keeping your skills up to date and the safe management of commercial vessels.

Vessel – the compulsory carriage and maintenance of safety equipment and how to create and implement risk control and operating procedures. ·

Purpose – making sure your vessel is suitable and legal for the work you are carrying out, your obligations in protecting the environment, appropriate planning and situational awareness.

Following the modules there is a mock assessment so you can check you are ready before moving on to the final graded online assessment.

We estimate users will take around 6 to 8 hours to work through the four course modules. The graded end of course assessment is split into two sections, totaling 2 ½ hours.

All new applicants for a commercially endorsed RYA Certificate of Competence must first pass the PPR course. Anyone renewing a commercially endorsed RYA Certificate of Competence must pass the PPR course prior to their next renewal date, if they haven’t already done so.

How to take the PPR course

The PPR course is run by RYA recognised training centres. Your training centre will provide remote access to an instructor who will be on hand to help if you have any queries during the online course.